No update on 77 missing Isha Foundation pilgrims in Tibet flood zone

There has been no update on the whereabouts of a group of 77 pilgrims from the Isha Foundation who went missing after a massive flash flood struck areas near the China-Nepal border two days ago, the group's coordinator said on Friday.

The 77-member group, led by the Isha Foundation, an organisation founded by Indian spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev, Sadhguru, has remained out of contact.

Maa Gambhiri, a coordinator at the group, told PTI that Sadhguru had wanted to visit Gyirong, the ground zero of the disaster, to help but did not get the necessary approval.

She said they had participants from 19 nationalities and had reached out to every embassy in India, China and Nepal to get all the support they could. She said they had also reached out to various offices and ministries in India and Nepal for any information and help.

"There has been no update on the 77 missing Isha Foundation pilgrims for the last two days. The rescue teams are on the ground but there is still no information yet," she said. "There are 77 families waiting desperately for the answers. It is an emotional turmoil for them," she added.

The Isha Foundation organises multiple Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimages each season. Groups travel from Kathmandu through Nepal to Tibet, with trekking on foot as part of the pilgrimage.

In a message posted on his official Facebook page on Wednesday, Sadhguru said one of his Kailash pilgrimage groups was caught in the flash flood while returning to Nepal. The group was at the immigration office in Gyirong when the flood struck, reportedly inundating the building and much of the town. Three volunteers were stranded in Timure, Nepal, he said.

The missing pilgrims include 22 from the US, 12 from Canada, 11 from Australia, nine from the UK, four from Germany, three each from France and Nepal, two each from the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and Spain, and one each from Finland, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia and South Africa.

According to Nepal police, at least 579 people have been killed in the devastation, with nearly a thousand missing.